Archive for 'Lent'

Today is the first Friday of Lent, which for many practicing Catholics means no meat. For the past few years I’ve rounded up some Lenten faves. Check out a few of my top picks after the jump. Read more »

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday which means Lent is officially here, bring on the Friday fish lunches! Word on the street is that Urban Lobster Shack is now offering a Lent Counter Special exclusively at their Midtown location. Each dish is $8 plus tax and “will be offered throughout the Lent season” though they warn that they sell out quickly each day, especially on Fridays (naturally). So, what does $8 buy you?

Tri Tip Grill has quickly become a ML darling. For a chain restaurant they provide a good product at a decent value and they listen to what the customer wants (hello, Midtown Toasty!). And it’s easily one of the best brick and morters to come to Rock Center in ages. While they are best known for their beef, if you’re a huge salmon fan and observing meatless Fridays you might want to make this a Lenten Lunch destination.

While veal, pork and the Schnitz Burger might get all the play here at Midtown Lunch, this is another schnitz. A Lenten Friday friendly schnitz. A cod schnitz. The cod schnitzel was one of the very first things I ordered from Schnitzel & Things when they first hit the streets in July of 2009. Available at the truck and S & T’s brick and morter as both a sandwich ($8 on the truck/$8.50 at the store) and a platter with two sides ($10 on the truck/$9.95 at the store). The cod is tender and not overly fishy and the breading gives it a wonderful crunch. While the sandwich will run you more than a filet o’ fish or a fried fish sandwich from Kim’s Aunt, it’s a high quality fish and price-wise it is on par with the Oyster Bar’s fish sandwich options. If you don’t mind paying a little more for your fried fish lunch, this is a good one to try.

The ML Team’s Cucina & Co Chef’s Table experience has been mixed. I enjoyed their pork tenderloin medallions with pasta, but Jeremiah had a less than satisfactory experience with their much hyped Friday sliders special. This week I noticed that the sliders were bumped to a Thursday slot in favor of a Tuna Burger special presumably for the Lenten lunch crowd.

Today is the first Friday during Lent, which for our observing Catholic lunch’ers means no meat. Traditionally Lenten Friday lunches might include fish sticks or a tuna sandwich, which have their own special place in the lunch pantheon, but if you’re looking to expand your fish lunch horizons, we’ve got some suggestions for you in the coming weeks. First up the Boneless Fish Curry from Biryani Cart.

Happy Fat Tuesday! Or Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras…in any case today is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, a forty-day-long liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter. In many countries it’s tradition to eat pancakes or some sort of leavened fatty food (doughnuts etc) on Fat Tuesday because traditionally, all meat and dairy products were forbidden during Lent. Pancakes or doughnuts were a good way of using up the last of those meat, eggs and dairy pantry items. Whether you are preparing to observe Lent or not, here are some picks for where to get your Fat Tuesday on. Read more »

Last week, I found myself in a lunch conundrum. I hadn’t brought anything from home and I was bored of my old standby quick lunches. To further complicate matters, it was Friday during Lent, so no meats for me. Much hemming and hawing ensued until I heeded the siren call of the Midtown Lunch Twitter Tracker and hit up Jiannetto’s Pizza Truck (on 47th btw. Park+Mad) to check out their vodka slice.

And here we are, the fourth Friday in Lent. You can do it Catholics, two more to go! We’ve covered some of the fried fish options, but what if you gave up fried things (Brownie!) or have been sick enough that someone (Zach!) told you that if you’ve called in sick to work on Wednesday, you shouldn’t go have burgers off a truck as a sick-day lunch. Well, then it would be Asian vegetable soup time.